Midnight
by Buoyant Essayist
Summary: Finally, midnights where looking up for her.


It was amazing that they could all hurt her so much in such a short period of time. She'd always loved Sasuke, but when he left her, alone on the bench in the _middle of the freakin night_ something seemed to click. Okay, so, he really didn't love her. And, well, _ouch._ Slowly though, she'd moved past it. Not gotten over it, or forgotten it, but moved past it. She put on her pretty smile, and pretended everything was fine. She'd always love him. But, looking at it now, it was like he was a favorite book from her childhood. Something that would always have a special place in her heart, but she'd moved on, had learned to read, and was thirsty for a new book.

And wouldn't you know it, Naruto was right there. All fresh and ready to be read. And it had been great. It was so comfortable. They'd known each other forever, they _knew_ each other, but there was always something new to learn, and, well, she thought they'd both had fun learning each other. And then Sasuke had come back. She didn't know what to expect, but to catch her current boyfriend and her ex-love of her life making out like bunnies on crack _in the middle of the training ground_ where _anyone _could walk in on them was not it. And okay, in there defense, it was the middle of the night. And looking back on it, she _should_ have expected it. They were always so intense with each other in everything they did, she should have realized that that intenseness would carry on to other aspects of their life. So, again, she moved past it. Not gotten over, or forgotten, but moved past it. Time to pull out the pretty smile. She bet she could give Sai a run for his money. So, that was another book over. Fond memories, and whatnot, right? Time to put it on the shelve, and move on.

What she hadn't expected though, was the lies. She had expected Naruto to tell her something, _anything, _and then break up with her. When he didn't though, when he kept holding her hand, and smiling his smile at her, she was confused. What was going on? Did she walk into a one time thing? It didn't matter to her though, she knew now that she could never hold his attention. They were comfortable, and Naruto was the kind of man that needed intensity, and wasn't it just the perfect coincidence that Sasuke was there to provide it? So, she broke up with him, put all the blame on herself, so he wouldn't feel bad, and walked away. She hadn't expected him to run straight into Sasuke's arms, but she figured after a couple months they would eventually get together. But, after 5 months and not a whisper on that front she started to get confused. Did she read the situation wrong? Had it really only been a one time thing? And she would have kept up with that thought if it hadn't been for that mission. It was a tough mission that had lasted about a month, and involved all five team members of Team Kakashi. So, that meant that Naruto, Sasuke, Sai, Kakashi and her were together for a whole month. And when they got back, the only thing she was looking forward too was a warm bath and a real bed. She'd thought the other team members were looking forward to the same thing. So when, at midnight, no less, she was woken up by and ANUB in her bedroom, asking her to gather the team together, and go to the Hokage, she had thought to look in there homes, but when none of them where there and all of them were getting drunk at a bar, she just rolled her eyes and crept up on them. It would serve them right if she scared the living shit out of them, they're own fault for being wasted right? But when she heard Kakashi's voice talking about how there relationship couldn't remain a secret forever, she'd known instantly who he was talking about. So. They were in a relationship. They just hadn't told her. Wonderful. And judging by Sai nodding his head in agreement, she was the only one who didn't know about this. Which was _stupid_ because she had _known about it first._ And, better yet, they were _lying_ to her. All of them! Kakashi, her team leader, her former sensei, the man she looked up to with admiration and respect, and the one person she expected never to lie to her. And Sai, sure, with his emotionless state, lying was easy, but she had thought they were _friends_. Damn it, why did all the shitty things always happen to her?!

Fine. Whatever. So, she left the bar, forgetting to inform them that the Hokage wanted to speak to them, all of them, and went there herself. She probably just wanted the write up, which she had, so no reason to bother her 'team'.

So, a couple days later, when the Hokage called her once more into her office, she went, expecting to see her team. When she got there and she was the only one there, she was a little surprised. Sure, Kakashi was usually late, but the others were always on time. It wasn't until Tsunade-sama started talking that she realized what was happing. A solo mission. For her. Going around the hidden villages and helping them brush up on their medical skills. It was brilliant on the Hokages part. What better way to make, and maintain allies, then sending her own apprentice willing to part with valuable medical information and teachings to other secret villages? It was prefect! The only problem the Hokage could see was that Sakura would be gone for a while. A couple years at least. It wasn't as if the hidden villages were right next door, and they were called _hidden villages_ for a reason.

For Sakura it was prefect. She didn't want to be trapped by the hurt and the lies anymore. So, it was time to move on. And what better way to move on then move around? She'd always wanted to see more of the hidden villages. And she'd be doing important ground work for potential allies to the Leaf Village. And she'd be doing what she loved, working in the medical field. Perfect. So, they made arrangements, and within a week it was time for her to leave. She didn't drop so much as a hint to her team. She didn't want them to know. Selfish and childish of her, she supposed. But this was hers. And they'd only ruin it for her. Because as much as they hurt her, without them knowing, of course, they were seriously crazy over protective of her, and any mission that she went on that wasn't a Team Kakashi mission, they always angled it with the Hokage so at least one of them was sent with her. And she didn't want anyone to be sent with her this time. It was hers _damn it _and she _didn't want to share._ So, on a Wednesday, in the middle of the night, she left. And as she was leaving the gates of Konoha behind her, the ridicules thought that midnights were finally looking up for her crossed her mind.


End file.
